Maggie's Tail
by TLOSpyrogirl
Summary: Spyro and Crystal are just trying to heal the wounds of the past. But when the discovery of their sister sets a new quest in motion, they'll have to jump the blurred line between light and dark—and try to find their mother on the other side. Some may think it is easy to see what is good and what is bad, but what if the darkest evil was once good? Sequel to The Legend of Crystal.
1. Sister, Sister

**A/N:**

**Insert bad and overused Tail/Tale joke here. And I'm naming the story after the dragon that only contributes to part of the story. Go figure. Sorry, I don't sound very happy, so... WELCOME to the sequel to TLOC 3! I hope you enjoy the story, and for all you people who have been around since the start, have as much fun reading this as you did the first three stories (despite their badness xD).**

**The first chapter has not been betaed except for the first five paragraphs. After that, all chapters onward have been betaed by GoldenGriffiness. Thank you, Golden. Well, no more delay. Enjoy, everybody.**

* * *

><p><em>Dedicated to Golden<em>

_'Days may pass, years fly by, but our friendship will never die'_

* * *

><p>Saifae sprung up from the ashes of its old existence; the dragons and cheetahs worked quickly, and within a month and a half the town was almost built back to what it once had been.<p>

"To the very last detail!" one of the older cheetahs said, nodding his aged grey-flecked gold head.

And it was true. If anybody had asked one of the civilians that had lived in Saifae before the war had reached it about it, they would have responded that it was just like it was before. Work on the Temple began soon after, but unlike the town it had to be constructed of hard steady stone. It would take months, if not years, for it to be finished.

Crystal flapped her wings and soared over the small but steadily growing settlement, smiling to herself as the wind spiraled around her form. Flying brought her brief reprieve from the grueling work of rebuilding the Temple. The sheer freedom of it, the whistle of wind in her ears, the joy of shaping it with her golden-yellow wings she could never keep off her mind. However as much as the amethyst dragon flew, it never felt like enough.

In case you haven't met her before, Crystal is a purple dragon as well as Spyro. His twin, in fact. Somehow, it ended up that there were two purple dragons instead of one, and that is all there is to say about it. She was similarly colored, although she was a shade darker than Spyro, and a tad sleeker as well. Her eyes burned with a rebellious fire that never seemed to be extinguished, but also a hint of sadness. They were all the more beautiful for it.

Crystal was making her usual rounds above the forest when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning towards the Ancient Grove in the distance, where the... whatever it was had happened, she squinted. Even from so far away, the gloomy grove was clearly visible.

Crystal saw it clearly this time. It was an explosion, but unlike one she had ever seen before; the explosion was literally blue. The light blue mist faded away quickly, but Crystal knew that couldn't have just been a trick of the light.

_Spyro, come check this out, _Crystal thought to Spyro. One of her and Spyro's powers were communicating to each other via telepathy.

Spyro was walking along the town, having a conversation with Sparx that wasn't going anywhere in particular, but he paused. _Now?_

_Yes, now! This is important! I'm flying over the southern edge of the swamp... hurry, before it ends!_

"Crystal wants to show me something important." Spyro shook his head and took to the air.

"Oh, I have got to see this," Sparx said, flying after Spyro.

Crystal anxiously waited for about five minutes, watching the amazing spectacle before her, before Spyro and Sparx arrived. Wordlessly, Crystal pointed at the grove and as if on cue pink particles left from an explosion floated up over the trees. Their colours were faint against the dawn sky, but unmistakable.

"What is that?" Spyro asked, flying forward slightly.

"I don't know, some sort of strange explosion. But whatever it is, it's definitely not normal. You think we should go check it out?"

"That's probably the best idea. Come on." Spyro began to fly towards the Ancient Grove.

"Should we go get the Guardians or Cynder first?" Crystal inquired, following Spyro and glancing back towards Saifae.

"Why?"

"Well, who knows what's doing that. It could be something dangerous."

"It's probably nothing, Crystal. Just some sort of light trick."

Crystal skeptically glanced back at the Grove. She and Spyro sped up and began their short flight. "If you say so."

"Oh, this is not a good idea..." Sparx groaned, flying after them.

The only thing between the Swamp and the Ancient Grove was a large field, almost a prairie, as well as the Silver River which had a very erratic course consisting of bends, dips, and dives. About thirty minutes passed before Spyro, Crystal, and Sparx arrived at their destination. Instead of landing, they flew over the grove, scanning it for any movement.

Crystal nearly flew right through one of the explosions, now red. Her vision suddenly became cloudy and full of static, but she shook it off and yelled, "Down there!"

The group swerved down through one of the clear patches through the treetops, looking around warily as they landed. The only sign of life were a few bugs that flitted about. Of course, it _was _hard to see, as the thick foliage blocked out the sun.

Spyro glanced around, but seeing nothing, stepped forward. He didn't make it far. A blue ball of light, with tendrils of magic spiraling off it, came flying towards him and exploded into a brilliant plethora of colours on contact. He was knocked off his feet and hit the ground with a thump. Feeling dizzy and disoriented, he tried to get up, but found he had been paralyzed.

"Go away!" the voice that rang out through the clearing was young but fierce.

Crystal thought to run towards Spyro but instead decided it would be safer to find the one who had hurt him. If she was hit by that strange blast too, she was done for. She looked around, but saw nobody. The dust that had been kicked up from the explosion hid everything.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What did you do to him?"

Crystal saw a silhouette in the shrouding darkness of the trees. The person it belonged to walked forward carefully then backed away again. Crystal took a few careful steps forward, on edge, and stepped right into the bright light cast by the trees she had flown through. The girl in the trees gasped and ran forward, and before Crystal knew what was happening, the girl who turned out to be a very young dragon was trying to hug her.

"I knew you would come!" she exclaimed, letting go.

Now that she was in the light her features could be seen clearly. She was very young, looking to be about six or seven, and only stood a little higher than half of Crystal's height. She was mostly a soft light blue colour with darker blue horns and wing membranes, and her large and expressive eyes were a colour a bit darker than cerulean. White markings, like clouds, covered her body and her tail was a spiral and her horns curved back, both traits Spyro and Crystal had.

In fact, Crystal had the odd feeling she was looking into a mirror of herself when she was younger. Obviously, this dragon wasn't her, but the uncanny similarities couldn't be mistaken.

"What are you talking about?" the unsettled Crystal demanded. "And what's wrong with Spyro?"

"It's how the element works," the young dragon explained. "It should wear off in a second."

It actually wore of immediately. Spyro, dazed, sat up and shook his head. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry," the girl said. "I thought you were one of the monsters I had been fighting off, so I hit you with my element, light."

Spyro blinked, still a little dizzy, and stepped up beside Crystal. Sparx, who had retreated to the trees when Spyro was hit, followed suit.

"Who are you?" Spyro asked.

"I'm Maggie," Maggie said with a smile that shined like the sunbeam she stood in.

"What did you mean when you said you knew we'd come?" Crystal asked.

Maggie drooped a little, seemingly reluctant to begin her explanation. "When I was little, Mommy told me about you. She said that she had never met you, but she still knew you somehow."

At this, Spyro and Crystal exchanged glances. They were both thinking the same thing, but neither of them even dared to say it aloud.

"She had to go away... so she told me to stay here until she came for me, or you both did."

"Why us?" Crystal asked. "Why are we the only others who you're supposed to go with?"

"You don't know yet?" Maggie asked quizzically, sitting down and tilting her head.

"What don't we know?" Spyro, who was as blank as Crystal, asked.

Maggie's head fell the other way as she watched Spyro and Crystal carefully for a reaction. "I'm your sister. She was our mother."

"What?!" Crystal asked, shocked. "But... I thought my family was dead..."

"We don't even know who our birth parents are," Spyro informed Crystal, clearly as surprised as she was.

"Maggie, do you know their names?" Crystal asked, turning to Maggie. She shook her head. "The Guardians would know," was the conclusion Crystal came to after a moment.

"If they knew, they would tell us," Spyro said.

"No... they're hiding something from us. I know it." Crystal's eyes narrowed, but she shook her head and turned to Maggie. "Can you fly?"

"A little," Maggie admitted, looking as if she didn't like the idea.

"Alright. Come on, let's get out of here. I'm going to kill them..." Crystal muttered the last part under her breath as she took off into the air.


	2. Blood Ties

With a ear-splitting crash, Crystal burst through the doors of the town's new council house. Already a small group of elders had taken on a almost government-like role. Old, wise members of the town would make decisions about Saifae, from the smallest matters to the occasional minor catastrophe.

The building Crystal _so_ politely entered was only one large room. There were seven places around a large oaken table. Here was where the town Council made their decisions. Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer were members, along with Kira, Caychl, Sereth, and Saenti, people who lived in old Saifae.

Kira was a Shadow dragon. She fought in the early war against Malefor, leading several wizened troops into battle. She was tall and strong, looming over the other dragons. She had scales darker than pitch, and her grey eyes were as impenetrable as a stormcloud. Her past was a mystery to all and, as some said, perhaps even _she_ wasn't quite sure of where her path had lead.

Caychl was a very old Earth dragon. Nobody knew very much about him, as he was quiet and kept to himself, though his eyes shone with a great wisdom. His scale's shade was a leafy green color, like that of the forest, though the edges held a hint of grizzled grey. His paws were a shade similar to burnished bronze, with that color branching out and spiraling up and around his legs, only stopping at the elderly dragon's pale stomach. His eyes were small and chocolate brown, often squinted in a certain scrutinizing way, which occasionally could make children squirm as if they had committed some great crime.

Sereth was a middle-aged cheetah. He had served in the war before, infiltrating ape outposts and destroying them from the inside out. His fur appeared to be auburn in some lights and carmine in others, with a greyish tint already beginning to appear around his wizened eyes were a yellow brighter than the morning sun.

Finally, Saenti was a sleek water dragoness, and often acted as peacekeeper. She was rather young, although well past the age of adulthood, and was rather good at distinguishing the truth out of arguments. She was a beautiful cerulean, with steel-blue highlights and eyes as blue as the ocean, and quite possibly deeper.

Not much was known about them, the other Council members, but no one had arguments about them in town and they were as fair as they could possibly be in any given situation. Back to the matter at hand, Crystal stood in the doorway, her amethyst eyes that were usually calm and unwavering now flaring with blazing fury.

"You've been lying to us!" she accused, pointing a white-clawed forefinger.

"What do you mean?" Terrador asked, gazing at her in confusion, slight hurt showing in is emerald orbs.

"You've been keeping something important from Spyro and I! Tell us what you're hiding!"

"I will not have you rush in here and yell at me like I'm some sort of—" Cyril grumbled, looking down his nose at her. Geez, she'd saved the realm and he _still_ treated her like some sort of hatchling.

"Shut up, Cyril!" Crystal snarled, white fangs flashing.

"Crystal..." Spyro said, walking up behind her and resting a placating wing on her shoulders.

"No! I am going to finish this!" She whipped back around to face the Guardians.

"As I said, you've been keeping something that you knew I would find important away from me, and I want to know what that is," she said, fractionally calmer, but her eyes still burned with rage.

"We're not hiding anything," Volteer said. "We are hiding zilch, nothing, zip—" All the while he was thinking to himself that Crystal had possibly gone crazy.

"Oh? Then explain her!" Crystal cut him off, guiding in the terrified Maggie. She was trembling and looking at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

The moment the Guardians saw Maggie, their eyes widened and they shot glances at each other.  
>"So tell me again you're not hiding anything?" Crystal asked, narrowing her eyes and cocking her head. Her tail twitched like a cat that had just cornered a plump mouse.<p>

Maggie's eyes gave little sign of recognition. She squinted at them and let her head fall to the side, her wide innocent eyes finally moving from the hard dirt floor.

"I've seen them before...but I can't remember where," she informed Spyro and Crystal, blinking at a vague recollection.

"You're right. It's time we told you about your family," Terrador said, shifting his weight from forepaw to forepaw, almost nervously.

"Really?" Crystal asked with a surprised blink. She didn't think they would have given in so easily.

"Come in here and sit down." Terrador sighed deeply.

Spyro, Crystal, Maggie, and Sparx obeyed, Maggie curled her tail around her forepaws.

"Your mother was a wind dragon named Theresa. She often kept her past to herself, but she was kind and benevolent and devoted her time to helping any and all in need. She was a valuable asset in the war. She defended Saifae to the best of her ability, but when her hometown was destroyed, she didn't have the heart to go out looking for violence any longer, so she stayed behind to defend the Temple with us. That was the night Ignitus sent your egg down the Silver River," Terrador explained, watching their faces for any sign of emotion.

"What happened to her?" Spyro asked, eyes widening.

"A few years after Maggie was born, she realized that the Temple would not be a safe place to raise her, so she ran to the Ancient Grove. There, she hoped, Malefor's forces would not dare wander, and Maggie would be safe." Cyril added, his usually chipper voice quite somber today.

"Well, where is she then?!" Crystal snapped, eyes hard.

"We aren't entirely sure," the prideful dragon admitted.

"Maggie...what happened?" Crystal turned to the young hatchling, eyes showing little pity beneath a deep fiery desire for the truth.

"She left," Maggie whimpered, still frightened by the scene. She had just left the only home she had ever known, and now this argument had been thrust upon her immediately. She shifted her weight, looking on nervously.

"Left? Where did she say she was going?" Crystal snapped out.

"I can't remember... Mommy just told me she was leaving and she didn't come back..." Maggie whimpered, trembling again. Crystal rested a wing on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.

"And our father?" Spyro insisted, hungry for the whole truth,

The Guardians gazed at Spyro and Crystal steadily, a hint of pity in every set of eyes. A chill of sadness ran up Crystal's spine, that expression spoke volumes.

"Your father was Ignitus," Terrador said, eyes sad.

"What?!" Spyro and Crystal both said it at the same time, but Crystal lurched to her feet.

"And you didn't think to tell us about this before? 'Oh, hey, thanks for saving us all! By the way, Ignitus is your father!'" Sarcasm dripped from her voice, and her eyes were harder still.

"Why didn't he tell us?" Spyro asked much more calmly, but a hint of betrayal evident in his violet orbs.

"He thought it would have been too much of a distraction. Much was at stake," Terrador explained, sighing once more.

"And he thought we would have cared about that?" Crystal suddenly found herself angry; not at the Guardians or Ignitus, but at herself. She couldn't explain it. With a resigned sigh she plopped back down and glared at her purple forepaws.

"He did what he thought was best for you," Volteer offered sympathetically.

Crystal nodded and sighed. Spyro gazed at the floor, deep in thought.

~~...~~

"Who woulda thought?" Sparx asked as Spyro and Crystal explained the new development to Cynder and him.

"You have to admit, that is surprising," Cynder said, shaking her head.

"I still don't get it. Distraction or not, it still seems that he would have told us something like that," Crystal said, meditatively gazing up at the azure sky, streaked with the fiery blaze off the sunset. "I just don't know."

Crystal tore her gaze from the heavens and glanced down at the town below. The huts were silhouetted perfectly by the setting sun, garbed in it's fiery autumn-leaf-coloured shroud. The three dragons and Sparx all sat (or hovered) on a ridge-like set of rolling hills that overlooked the peaceful town.

"Do you remember Ignitus?" Crystal glanced at Maggie, who was huddled between Spyro and Crystal.

Maggie shook her head.

"No, I can't," she admitted sadly. A scan of her memory revealed nothing but a blur.

Crystal sighed and gazed back down to the town, a small smile gracing her mouth at the sheer beauty of it all.

"Hey, you two, we gotta go," Sparx said to Spyro and Crystal. It had been decided soon after the news that Maggie would, of course, live in the swamp.

"Alright, alright." Crystal grumbled, before standing and stretching like a cat.

"Bye, Cynder," Spyro said, glancing at the sleek dragoness and sighing. Crystal wondered why he seemed so disappointed.

"Catch you later," Crystal said, smirking at her friend.

"Not if I outfly you," was the playful reply.

Crystal bunched her haunches, rocketing into the air, a mere streak of bright purple under the fading sky. She was accompanied by another purple streak, one blue, and one a shining golden-yellow.


	3. An Old Enemy

"Come on, Maggie, it's a lot of fun," Crystal encouraged.

"I don't want to," Maggie retorted, shaking her head, glancing slightly guiltily at her forepaws.

"Crystal's right. Flying is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it," Spyro offered.

Maggie glanced at Spyro, then peered over the edge of the ridge she, Spyro, Crystal, Cynder, and Sparx were assembled at. It was late morning, and the world had fully awakened. Spyro and Crystal were trying to convince Maggie to fly.

"I might fall," Maggie's voice quavered like a leaf in a hailstorm.

"We won't let you fall, Maggie. Besides, we'll fly low," Crystal reassured her younger sister.

Maggie sighed and timidly gazed over the edge again, eyes wide and frightened. "Okay...I'll try," she said nervously, scuffling one forepaw.

Crystal hopped into the air and snapped open her wings before whipping a half-turn to face Maggie.

"Just jump into the air and flap your wings. You can fly, Maggie; you flew back with us," Crystal assured her. "We're right here to catch you if you fall!"

"But I was holding onto Spyro the whole time," Maggie protested. Nonetheless, she backed up, ran forward, and burst into the air, flying sporadically towards Crystal. Crystal flew out of Maggie's way and allowed her to sprawl forward.

Maggie's flying was rough at first, but it kept her in the air. Spyro, Crystal, and Cynder were always at hand in case she flew too slow and fell, or too fast and tired herself out, but after a few minutes, she was nearly perfect. It didn't take long for a dragon to learn to fly. Both Spyro and Crystal could testify to that.

"So, you still don't like flying?" Crystal asked, grinning and flying up beside Maggie. Maggie shook her head vigorously in response and a light laugh escaped her small mouth.

~~...~~

The problem with Maggie was that once you got her into the air, you couldn't get her out of it.

"Come on, Maggie, we have to go home!" Spyro called into the air, stifling a laugh. His neck was cramping from having it back so far to see Maggie.

"No! I wanna stay here!" Maggie called stubbornly from the air.

"Come on, Maggie, we've been here all day," Crystal insisted, hiding a smile.

"You'll have to catch me if you want to make me go home!" Maggie taunted, a wide grin spreading on her face.

"Okay, easy enough." With that, Crystal flew into the air, performing a graceful aerial flip.

Maggie was quick, but Crystal was downright fast. She had experience and strength on her side and it didn't take her long to catch Maggie.

"Aww, but do I have to go home?" Maggie grumbled, pouting.

"Yes, but we'll come back tomorrow," Crystal promised, smiling.

"Okay..." Maggie said reluctantly, still frowning.

"See you tomo—" Cynder began, but she paused and a peculiar look came on her face, her eyes darted this way, than that.

"What wrong?" Crystal asked, concerned.

"Cynder? What's wrong?" Spyro asked, shooting Cynder a worried look.

Cynder blinked, then shook her head. "Noth...nothing. It's nothing," Cynder said. She looked slightly lost, confused…

"Are you sure?" Spyro asked, his amethyst orbs showing with concern.

"I'm fine, Spyro," snapped tiredly, shaking her head.

"If you say so... Come on." Spyro looked hurt, but he turned and flew away anyway.

"What's up with her? Sheesh," Sparx grumbled, crossing his small arms.

"I don't know. That was weird," Crystal said, shrugging her shoulders.

Spyro just sighed, studying the ground.

~~...~~

The silence was crushing the small chamber. It was so quiet that any creature who ventured down into the volcano could hear nothing but silence, a eerie presence that weighed on one's shoulders even more than the loudest places. But, of course, nobody even went near the now inactive volcano.

But something was happening. The great purple crystal suspended in the middle of the chamber was shaking. It rumbled vigorously for many minutes. Finally, the crystal cracked right down the middle and a bone-rattling cry of terror escaped from it.

_"Noooo...!"_ The cry echoed throughout the chamber and if anyone had been there, they'd be near deafened.

And out of the crystal something mist-like seeped out, writhing like snakes, binding into a huge spectral shape.

Malefor.

Malefor examined himself as he stood on the broken crystal. He turned and looked up out of the volcano. Then, wordlessly, he shot into the air and flew up the long tunnel. He burst out of the volcano and snapped his wings open before immediately heading for the forest outside of Warfang. All the way he was brooding over what his next move would be, stinging at his defeat.

_I have escaped that infernal prison, but my chance to resurrect the Destroyer is long gone, and I can't do anything in this form,_ he was thinking to himself when he paused, hearing a voice.

"I can't believe that she did that..." It was a male voice. Malefor walked forward, suddenly hatching an idea in his dark mind.

The one who had spoken was a dragon, a poison or earth dragon by the looks of it, and looked to be just past the age of adolescence. His scales were a bright green, so it was likely he was an of the earth element (as poison dragon's scales tended to be on the more dark side of the spectrum. His eyes were a hazel color, somewhat misty, and he looked to be in top physical condition with muscles showing clearly under his scales.

Malefor walked up to the dragon. His spiritual form seeped into purple mist again, and the mist began to surround the earth dragon, wrapping around him before worming into his scales like vipers gone amuck.

"What the—?" he began to say, stopping in his tracks and gazing around in surprise at the mist, but he was cut off by it suddenly rushing full force towards him and entering his body.

Malefor examined himself again, except now he had stolen the dragon's body, casting his soul into the ether.

"This dragon is pathetically weak, but it will have to do," Malefor grumbled. His voice was young once again, but the venom was still there, now and forever.


	4. On the Road Again

**B/N(Beta-ers note, not that that's even a word):**

**"Your doing better TLO, you really are," GoldenGriffiness said.**

**"Shut up, you're not saying this right. TLO, you're doing awesome, and improving much better than she," LoC (Legend of Cynder) Cynder jabbed her forepaw at GG, "ever did."**

**"She's right though, I was writing for school for years, and in my first story, everything was still cruddy except the storyline… And meet LOC Cynder, my little muse of insanity. LOC got off to a bad start as well, and it was Legend of Crystal that originally inspired Legend of Cynder anyway. Honestly, does everyone I beta need humbleness antivirus shots? They should steel some ego from a certain friend of mine… He needs to lose a ton!" GG exclaimed.**

* * *

><p><em>The chamber was dark, the vision swirled and blurred. Next to nothing was visible, but in the blackness there was a single blur of white.<em>

_Pounding, endless pounding could be heard, the sound of metal slapping scales. The sound rang throughout the small, dank room._

_Slowly, the dream began to come into focus, the blur of ivory's features sharpening to reveal those of a dragon .With a groans and hisses of pain, the great beast was ramming a metal door. Resonating great clangs and the squeal of hard horn rubbing on iron, harder still. Shedding a shy light through the room was a single, diminutive candle, sitting on what might have been a windowsill—had there been a window._

_The dragon stopped and stood still for several second. Then, suddenly, her head turned and her unsteady eyes focused on the dreamer. She was quite suddenly dancing with clarity._

_"Save me," she whispered. The voice was tired, weak, but burnt strong still, akin to a candle in the dark._

Crystal gasped and shot unsteadily to her feet, heart pounding. After the momentary shock that follows a nightmare faded, she looked around. She was in the Swamp, of course, and she'd fallen asleep outside. The night was moonless and starless, and a shadow was draped over the land. Not even the small, night-dwelling creatures dare peek out heads from there shadowy dens.

Noticing the flash of motion, Crystal turned her head and saw Spyro. He was pacing slowly, deep in thought, tail twitching from side to side like a restless cat.

"Can't sleep?" Crystal asked.

Spyro shook his head and sat down.

"Neither can I." Crystal walked closer to Spyro and sat down beside him. "I can't take these horrible nightmares anymore. ...Again," she added.

"You think they've visions? A sign? Like last time, with the Well of Souls..." His voice quavered slightly, a leaf in a powerful wind. "I hope not. I had one nightmare, and in it you were... never mind. I don't want to talk about it," Spyro said, eyes darting away from hers.

Crystal glanced at Spyro tensely, sighed, and shook her head. She looked on the verge of saying something, but she paused. "Spyro... I think we should—"

"No... We can't leave now. Saifae needs us. Maggie needs us. Sparx and Mom and Dad need us," Spyro responded quickly, not agreeing with the idea for the umpteenth time.

"But there's someone out there who needs us more," Crystal said somberly, half-quoting Spyro himself.

Spyro sighed heavily, amethyst head drooping.

"I don't know about this... We don't even know where to start," he said, quietly scratching one forefoot with the other, fidgeting as usual when it came to big decisions.

"We'll start in Warfang. It's _the_ big city. Someone's bound to know something. If there's a library, it's got to have records. Maybe we'll find some information… Somewhere…" Crystal replied steadily, masking her uncertainty with a strong exterior.

"We should tell the Guardians or Mom and Dad..." Spyro said, still clinging to a fear of leaving, again, of never coming back this time…

"They'll just stop us," Crystal growled, still wary of those who'd withheld the information of her sister for so long.

Spyro shifted, gave a long sigh, and finally said, "Fine. I guess I have no choice. You'll go anyway, and then I'd just have to follow you, wouldn't I?" He ignored her slight, knowing smirk.

"C'mon then, Let's go wake up Sparx."

Crystal shook her head, lowering guilty eyes. "It's too risky. We don't even know what we're getting into. She's trapped somewhere... or being held back, something, or else she would have come back with Maggie. Bringing Sparx might not be a good idea..."

"But we have to bring him. He always comes with us wherever we go, unless we know it would be too dangerous for him, like at the Belt of Fire..." Spyro glared at his sister, radiating defiance.

"Spyro, I know, it's not like I'm looking forward to leaving him behind, but something is wrong here... Malefor's mixed into this somehow..."

"We don't know that," Spyro said quickly, as if grasping at a last flickering glimmer of lost hope.

"But I can _feel_ it. If... if she's still alive... we could just be bringing him into something we'll both regret. And even if she's not, who knows what we could find?"

"You're right..." Spyro said, eyes lowered once more, still uncertain. Then, quavering, he asked, "And Cynder?"

"No... we should go alone. We can't draw too much attention to ourselves," Crystal said, shaking her head sadly.

Spyro drooped even more, simply radiating disappointment. "Yeah, not like whoever is holding her won't spot two purple dragons a mile away," he noted, expression brightening a little.

Crystal gave a rueful grin. "If we stay low, on foot, maybe they won't be hot on our trail. Come on."

"Wait. Shouldn't we write a letter or something, to let them know we didn't just disappear off the face of the world?" Spyro asked. Unlike his sister, he was less willing to just go off with little preparation.

"If we tell them, somebody might go after us. But we can't just leave them thinking we're dead..." Crystal thought for a moment. "We could lie. We could tell the Guardians we've caught a disease and we're sick, and Mom and Dad and Sparx that we had been sent out on a... recovery mission with a group of dragons."

"Lie to them? Won't they be angry if they find out?"

"They _won't_ find out. I'll set a long date... two weeks or so. We should be back by then and they'll never know. Unless, of course, we recover her... Then they'll know, but they won't be that angry if we bring her back."

Spyro raised an eyebrow. Running away, lying to his family and the Guardians... it just didn't sound like a good idea. But what else could they do?

"Alright... Fine, Crystal. If it's the only thing we can do without them worrying."

Spyro and Crystal stood up and set out to gather the necessary supplies, but unknown to them, they were being watched...

Sparx peered out from behind the large tree, doing his best to conceal his golden glow. His face had changed expression many times throughout the conversation, and he was left wondering who 'she' was, exactly. Wordlessly, he flew off between the large mushrooms, heading for Saifae.

By the time he found Cynder (who tended to be semi-nocturnal, and usually didn't get very much sleep), who was wandering throughout the streets of Saifae, he had managed to deduce who 'she' was.

"Cynder!" Sparx whispered.

"Sparx? What's wrong?" Cynder asked, surprised to see Sparx out this late, and visiting her of all people…

"It's Spyro and Crystal... they're leaving!"

"What? What do you mean?" Cynder asked, puzzled, cocking her head.

"They... From what I caught from the conversation, they're having those crazy visions again, and they think someone's in danger, and they're going after them... I think they mean their mom... their real mom," Sparx explained hurriedly, with a touch of sadness on the end in the fact that he, Spyro, and Crystal were related by adoption alone. "And another thing... they think Malefor's involved or something... You've gotta stop them, Cynder! I don't know if I can alone. They're going to go out there and get themselves killed this time! At _least_ convince them to let them take you with them."

"Malefor?" The odd look on Cynder's face from yesterday returned. She squinted, as if trying to see something, then her eyes widened. "Oh, no... Come on, Sparx!" Cynder, with little warning, sprang to the air and shot of towards the swamp.

~~...~~

Letters were composed, and left outside where each of the parties would notice them, held down by a rock so they wouldn't blow away. Spyro and Crystal were ready to leave just as the moon was beginning to make its descent out of lightening obsidian sky.

Spyro and Crystal, after a short flight over the swamp, landed on a hill and proceeded to walk. Crystal paused at the crest of the hill and looked back. All of the Swamp and some of the forest was visible. The stars that had appeared from behind the thick clouds that had covered the land until a few minutes ago were beginning to fade out of the sky, leaving one last burst of radiance as the sun peeked timidly from the skyline.

"We'll come back. We always do," Spyro said to Crystal, offering a reassuring smile.

Crystal smiled back, hiding away her sorrow in a spare corner of her heart, one she hoped was hidden even from their telepathic link.

* * *

><p>Cynder landed in the clearing where Spyro and Crystal's home was located, glancing around feverishly for her missing friends.<p>

"They're gone..." Cynder murmured to herself. Something caught her eye. She walked over and picked up the rock holding the letter down, then letter, and proceeded to read it aloud in a muted whisper.

"Dear Mom, Dad, and Sparx, the Guardians have sent us and five others on a mission to rescue a young fire dragon that left to collect resources and hasn't come back, sorry we had to leave at such short notice, but this is of dire importance. We'll be back in a month at the most and a week at the least, don't worry, we're completely safe, love, Crystal and Spyro.'"

"They're lying," Sparx pointed out.

"But why would they lie?"

"I don't know... Come on, they probably went this way!" Cynder took to the air again, after depositing the letter back under the rock. Sparx was right behind her.

* * *

><p>Crystal's smile faded as she heard a call from the hill below.<p>

"Wait! Waaaaaaaaait!" It was Sparx, yelling as loudly as he could and flying up the hill quickly as his wings would take him.

Spyro and Crystal exchanged glances as Sparx flew up to them, huffing.

"Sp-Spyro! Crystal! Oh, I _still_ need to get into shape..." Sparx said, finally reaching them.

Cynder came running up the hill next. "Where are you going?" she asked indignantly.

"Nowhere. Just taking a walk," Crystal said. She could lie well, but of course, Cynder and Sparx didn't fall for it.

"We know the truth. We saw your note." Sparx crossed his arms.

Crystal sighed. "Sparx, you can't come with us. And neither can you, Cynder. Go home," she said.

"I _heard_ your conversation! I'll be fine. I always go with you."

"Not always, Sparx. And not now," Spyro murmured, a apologetic yet sober light glimmering from his damp eyes.

"I'm going too," said Cynder, the determination in her voice leaving little room for argument.

"This isn't a game. We have to do this on our own," Spyro said tensely, shifting his weight from forefoot to forefoot.

"If 'on our own' means with me and Cynder, then great. Let's go!" Sparx exclaimed, sarcastic as ever.

"Sparx..." Crystal groaned, she new well of both her friend's stubbornness. "If you heard us, you most of all should understand. We have to go. And this just isn't a time when you can come with us."

"We're always are gonna stick together, you two. We've been through a lot, and that isn't going to change." Sparx was defiant, crossing thin glowing arms."And besides, I mean, _come on._ Did you honestly think that you could go on a life-threatening adventure without _me?"_

"Or _me?"_ Cynder grumbled, looking slightly hurt.

Crystal and Spyro glanced at each other, wavering, but they were relieved and it showed on their faces.

"I don't know..." Spyro said, about to surrender.

"We'll be fine, " Cynder said simply, but it was enough to convince them, if nothing else at least of the fact the two'd just follow anyway.

"You two are the best," Crystal said, letting out a soft sigh of relief. Honestly? She was afraid of going alone, with just Spyro. It would be better to have two more friends at her side.

"Well? Come on, what are we waiting for?" Sparx asked, flying away, followed by Spyro, Crystal, and Cynder.

Spyro and Crystal thought little of the rock-pinned notes, and less of what the disappearance of both Sparx and Cynder would do to their alibi. They were just glad, glad to be going, and glad to have those two, ever steadfast, walking by their side.

Unbeknownst to them, a gust of wind came low to the ground. It pulled at the paper, and finally, it came loose. Fluttering away into the forest it went, flitting in the breeze like a free bird, no longer pinned and not regretful of the chaos its daring escape could unleash.


	5. Revelations

"Can't we just fly _over_ the grove?" Crystal complained. She and the party were standing just outside the Ancient Grove, staring at the shadows that writhed beneath the trees.

"You said yourself that it'd be better to stay low," Spyro replied, gazing steadily at the thick forest that awaited them.

"But it's going to take _hours_ to get through this place, while it could only take a few minutes just to go over it. Warfang's far away; it's not like anybody is going to see us," Crystal whined. "Plus, it'd be wasting time and energy."

"And what if she's still somewhere in there? Then we've just passed her by. We need to look everywhere, and we're starting here." Spyro turned and resolutely walked into the grove. Sparx, Cynder, and the reluctant Crystal followed.

Almost as soon as they stepped foot in the grove, Grove Mites swarmed them. Crystal jumped back and released a bout of fire, remembering her previous horrific experience with the bugs. They let out squeaks and either burned up in the air or hit the ground.

And that was the end of any opposition the party faced. They trudged along for nearly half an hour, each silent, until Spyro paused.

"I don't like this. It's too quiet," he said.

"Be thankful for it. It's much better than the last time we came here. Although if I ever see head or tail or those pirates again..." Crystal growled.

"Well, I'm sure they've left by now," Spyro said. "Come on, we should be out of here in an hour or two if we don't stop."

* * *

><p><em>Dear Terrador, Volteer, and Cyril,<em>

_Spyro and I have caught a sickness, and it's highly contagious. We won't be able to visit Saifae for at least two weeks, maybe even a month. Don't worry about us; we'll be fine. The disease isn't life-threatening. We thought we should inform all of you so that you don't worry at our absence._

_Crystal_

"That's odd..." Volteer murmured to himself. He was holding the letter Spyro and Crystal had left out for him. Before he could do anything else, the letter that was addressed to Spyro and Crystal's parents blew towards him in a gust of wind and landed gently beside him. Volteer picked up that letter.

_Dear Mom, Dad, and Sparx,_

_The Guardians have sent us and five others on a mission to rescue a young fire dragon that left to collect resources and hasn't returned. Sorry we had to leave at such a short notice, but this is of dire importance. Don't worry, we're completely safe. We should be back in a month at the most and a week at the least (we think the fire dragon may have gone very far)._

_Love, Spyro and Crystal_

This confused Volteer, in his words, "to the undeniable extreme". What did this mean? Two letters, both saying different things? He wasn't sure about the first letter, but he knew for sure that there was no lost fire dragon, and a search party hadn't been launched at all.

Volteer, still very puzzled, set out to find Terrador and Cyril. Luckily, they were both together and close by.

"What does this mean?" Volteer asked. He proceeded to read aloud the contents within the letters.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Cynder around either..." Cyril murmured.

"This is strange, indeed, and perplexing to the extreme. Why is it important that we or their parents don't know where they're going? And how is Cynder involved in this?" Volteer wondered.

That's when it hit Terrador like a splash of cold water. He raised his head, eyes dawning in comprehension.

"They're going after their mother."

* * *

><p>"I'm glad we're almost out of here. It's too early in the morning to go trudging through an evil grove looking for something that <em>isn't there,"<em> Crystal complained. "This place brings back bad memories."

"Hey, would you relax and quit complaining? At least _this_ time you're not fainting," Sparx said, snickering.

"Funny," Crystal said sarcastically. "But I think it was you who fainted, Tinkerbell."

"Why do you keep calling me Tinkerbell?" Sparx demanded. "That's not even a word!"

"Would you two be quiet? I think I heard something," Spyro said. Sparx and Crystal complied.

"What is that?" Cynder whispered.

Boom boom... _snap snap_. Boom boom... _snap snap_. The crackle of breaking twigs and some sort of booming met the young dragons' ears. They looked around, but saw nothing.

"It sounds like it's coming from over there," Cynder said, leading everybody forward.

They entered a clearing, which was strangely empty. The middle of the "clearing" gradually inclined into a basin, which was all but clear. Various roots and vines stuck up out of the ground, as tangled up as a ball of yarn.

Crystal made her way into the basin and looked around. "I could have sworn I heard something here..."

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble. Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx gasped. Crystal looked around, looked down, and suddenly realized where the mini-earthquake was coming from. She bolted. And not a moment too soon. The second she was about to step forward, the ground spiked up into the air. Crystal jumped down and scurried over to the rest of the gang. To their dismay and horror, out of the ground rose not just a Growth, but _the_ Growth... the Growth Matron.

* * *

><p>"It makes sense... but why would they lie to us?" Cyril asked.<p>

Before anybody could continue further, Nina rounded a bend and flew quickly over to the Guardians. "Do you have any idea where Spyro, Sparx, and Crystal are?" she asked immediately. It was clear by the look on her face that she was very anxious.

"Sparx is gone as well?" Terrador asked.

"Yes. Do you know where they went?"

The Guardians proceeded to explain the situation to Nina, as well as showing her the letters.

"They lied?" Nina asked, surprised, even shocked. Spyro and Crystal had never lied to her before.

"I'm afraid so," Volteer said.

"This still doesn't solve anything. It seems like Spyro and Crystal intended to leave on their own, but Cynder and Sparx are gone as well. We have no idea where they're going or where they are. They could have taken them at the last minute, but that still doesn't explain the letters," Terrador said. "And I may be wrong—they may not be going after their mother at all."

"What should we do now, Terrador?" Cyril asked.

Terrador paused in thought. "You and Volteer will stay here. I'll fly to Warfang and try to find them on my own. I doubt they would be anywhere near Solitude, so I'll check the Shadowed Vale if I can't find them in Warfang. And if not... may the ancestors look after them," he murmured.

Volteer and Cyril nodded. Nina, although still frightened, nodded shakily too.

* * *

><p>The Growth Matron looked like any other Growth—body made of roots, moss growing thickly over said roots, red glowing eyes, et cetera—save for size. The Matron was quite literally a giant. It was bigger than any Growth Spyro or Crystal had ever seen—and the adults towered over them as it is. She was holding a large club, made of bark wound together tightly, and was very wise. Growth Matrons were a rarity; they were normal Growths that had survived the tests of life for hundreds of years (which accounted for their shocking size).<p>

"What do we do? _What do we do?!" _Crystal uncharacteristically panicked.

"Run!" Cynder yelled.

"Good plan!" Sparx interjected.

The gang took to the skies and tried to get away, but before they could do anything, a great mass of roots sprouted from the ground, tangling themselves together and creating a cage that trapped the whole party in with the Matron. In a flurry of movement, she struck, the group barely dodging.

Spyro flew forward and breathed fire, whipping around the Matron in slow circles. Crystal did the same, but she took on the lower area, dodging several kicks in the process. Cynder maneuvered her way through a series of attempted slams by the club. With every turn she made, she breathed a ball of poison that corroded the Matron's vulnerable wood-and-vine body. Still, the Matron managed to hit Cynder with her club. Cynder was sent flying into the cage's vine bars, but luckily she just bounced off.

The Growth Matron roared loudly, angry at the intruders. Spyro merely continued his assault, but a moment later, Grove Mites began to stream into the cage and he was forced to land. Luckily for Crystal, none of the mites flew down to them, and merely kept the dragons out of the air.

The Matron took advantage of the fact that the group was now on ground level. She roared again, and normal-sized Growths rose out of their earthly refuge, heeding their superior's call.

Because Cynder's poison was even more effective than Spyro and Crystal's fire put together, she was left to contend with the Matron while the latter two kept the Growths away from her. After a few minutes, the deadly poison did its work. The Matron's left leg was completely gone. She was forced to balance on her right and hang onto the vines that made up the makeshift cage.

But then something horrible happened. Vines shot up out of the ground, replacing the leg that had corroded away with a fresh one. She took the time to regenerate the other wounds she had received too. It was if she had never even been hit.

"What are we going to do?" Cynder demanded, fighting off a Growth.

"Cynder, try using your fear on the Grove Mites, and then breathe poison on the Growth's face!" Spyro commanded.

Cynder complied, and sure enough the Grove Mites scattered as soon as the element hit them, leaving the upper area free. Cynder then shot a writhing mass of sickly green toxin at the Growth's face. The Matron shrieked and tried to hit Cynder again, but Spyro was to the rescue. He distracted the enemy, shooting a great plume of flame and darting about. Crystal and Spyro circled, darting in unison, two gleaming beams of blue striking the giant's arms, and encasing them in silvery ice.

Acid ate away at the great beast's neck, until final there was nothing left to bind it to the body. The vines that made up the cage walls lowered into the ground. Spyro and Crystal stopped breathing ice, and flew out of the way as the Matron began to flail her arms wildly. Spyro, Crystal, Cynder, and Sparx made a quick escape before the great beast could regenerate. They burst out of the grove and continued flying until they were far away from it. Now a considerable distance away, they flopped onto the ground like limp rags.

Crystal groaned and flopped over. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see grass."

"Come on, Crystal. We need to keep moving," Spyro said. He was happy to have a break, but they didn't have much time to spare.

"Can't we just rest for one minute?" Crystal pleaded, rolling over and reluctantly standing.

"We don't have time for that."

"Aw, Spyly, you're no fun," Crystal said, smirking mischievously, sitting up and trying to catch her breath still.

"What did you just...?" Cynder began, but she was drowned out by Spyro and Crystal.

"Spyly? This again?" Spyro asked, exasperated.

"Yup. Oh, it's been a minute. Let's go!" Crystal took to the air.

"I really don't think I'll ever understand her..." Spyro said to himself, shaking his head before taking off after Crystal.

* * *

><p>Malefor paced around the large room, claws clicking on the stone floor. He had fled back to his fortress on the Floating Isles, and now he plotted and planned on how to get his revenge.<p>

As Malefor was pacing, something caught his eye. A cluster of dark Spirit Gems. He walked over to it, sick yellow eyes narrowing. Where a normal Spirit Gem would cast a gleam on his scales, these emanated naught but shadows, throwing his already dark purple to off-black.

Eyes widening, the great dragon smirked, a dark chuckle expanding in his throat until it emitted through the ancient building.


	6. Dark Spirit Gems

**A/N:**

**The Spirit Gem idea belongs to Golden, because she came up with it and give me permission to use it. Thank you, Goldie.**

* * *

><p>The moons rose in the sky; Zinan, the smallest moon, with his red-tinted earth, and Virat, the largest, with her ocean-blue hue. They had but just begun their voyage high above the earth, and as a result, Virat covered most of eastern horizon. Her much her lesser companion faithfully trod beside her.<p>

Beneath the moons Spyro, Cynder, Crystal, and Sparx surrounded a flickering ruby flame. The group was in sight of the island's edge, but rather than fly over the ocean to the mainlands where Warfang was located with strained wings and tired feet, they'd opted to get a good night's sleep.

Crystal lay in a patch of grass with her back facing the now-dying fire, tail twitching in her sleep. Sparx was near her, hands cushioning his head. Spyro and Cynder weren't asleep, though. They sat beside each other, staring at the embers.

Spyro, throughout the night, had looked to be on the verge of saying something but always shut his mouth and nervously shook his head. Finally, he mustered up the courage and forced himself to begin.

"Cynder?" Spyro asked, scratching at the dirt slightly. He was clearly nervous about something.

"Yes?" Cynder asked, then noticing the look on Spyro's face, she added, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say—I mean, I've been wanting to say for a long time..." The cavities Spyro had made in the ground became a little deeper, claws digging into soil. There was a long pause before he mustered the strength to speak again. "I heard you in the core of the world. And," Spyro turned to look at Cynder, eyes shimmering, "I love you too."

The two remained silent after that, as if having a conversation nobody but them could hear. They leaned against each other, tails snaking together, obsidian and amethyst sparkling in the firelight.

~~...~~

The next day, the group had made it to the mainlands and were walking on foot through a forest. Sparx and Cynder were in the front, Spyro and Crystal behind. They had been traveling for about two hours, but none of them had said a word since they left.

The sun was shining merrily, and the sky was blue as the ocean they had just flown over. A gentle breeze danced its ways through the trees, rustling and twining around them. Crystal looked up at the sky in appreciation, glad that it was one of those days that was just right in many ways.

Crystal's thoughts began to wander as she plodded through the grass, the occasional _crunch_ piercing the silence when she stepped on a dry patch. She wondered about her mother. Where was she? What was she like? Was she alive? Crystal tried very hard to avoid that last thought.

She thought about Spyro next. _He's been acting so... strange lately, _Crystal thought. _Not strange, just kind of different. He's always wanting to go see Cynder, which is fine with me because she's my friend, but he's also looking at her kind of weird and..._

That's when it suddenly dawned on her. It all made sense, all added up perfectly. He loved her. Crystal wasn't exactly surprised... perhaps a little bit. But the realization wasn't a big shock.

"You love Cynder, don't you." Crystal spoke in a whisper directed at Spyro. It was a statement, not a question.

Spyro blinked, startled by the suddenness of her question. "How did you know?" was his only response.

Crystal shrugged in response. "I just kind of figured it out. And anyway, we still have our mental link. How long did you expect to keep it from me?"

"I wasn't _keeping_ it from you, I just hadn't mentioned it yet," Spyro rebutted.

"So you really do. I knew it," Crystal smirked, all the while wondering how something so obvious had taken her so long to see.

"You're going to taunt me forever now, aren't you?"

"No."

"And I thought you had finally matur—wait... What?" Spyro was taken off-guard by her answer.

"I shouldn't have teased you about it all the time. I didn't know. Sorry," Crystal mumbled guiltily.

"No problem. I should have said something anyway." Spyro smiled, and Crystal smiled back. She brightened up a bit and resumed her happy gait, despite what was literally just around the corner. The purple dragon looked after her, almost concerned with his sister's sudden change.

As the sun reached the ten o' clock area and fog began to set in, shrouding the previously sunny world in its thickness.

"How does that happen?" Crystal wondered aloud. "One minute it's sunny and warm, and the next it's misty and cold."

"Maybe it's like the calm before the storm, only fog?" Cynder offered, shrugging. Before anybody could say anything else, she focused on something between the trees and called out, "Look! There's somebody out there!"

Everybody stared into the fog, and sure enough, there was a shadow in it, walking slowly towards them.

"Hello?" Spyro yelled, but the person didn't even pause to acknowledge him.

As he came closer, it became apparent that he was a dragon. Soon enough, the party managed to make out the colour of his scales, blue like the ocean. His underbelly, horn, and small frills located at his shoulders were a slightly lighter shade. He was likely a water dragon.

He was tall, although he didn't seem to be particularly strong, and was an adult. His eyes were green, similar to the deep hues of a pond, and they lacked both emotion and awareness. He could have been dead for all the life that was in his eyes.

"Spyro, there's something wrong with him," Crystal whispered as they padded forward warily.

"Sir... sir, are you hurt?" Spyro asked. The dragon didn't answer, only walked closer until he was a few feet in front of Spyro. The dragon raised his head and gazed at him—although it was less like he was looking at Spyro and more like he was looking _through_ him.

Spyro stepped forward a few paces, then jumped back, surprised, as claws slammed to earth where he'd been but a moment before.

Cynder and Crystal jumped into the fight immediately, Cynder breathing a blanket of shadow and Crystal a blast of earth. They felt odd, though... whenever they came into close proximity with the dragon, their limbs felt heavy and there forms ached, as if their force was being drained.

The dragon growled again and a torrent of water rushed out of his mouth. The wave hit Cynder and bowled her over, black scales marred with the brown soil as she skidded across the earth. Turning his attention back to Spyro, who was aiming arcs of electricity his way, the strange dragon's eyes narrowed slightly.

The water dragon seemed determined to get as close to the three as possible, and Crystal fulfilled his wish by darting forward, ramming into his side. He tumbled over, and Crystal, surprised she had knocked him off his feet, began to breathe a flickering spark of flame. But almost as soon as she had, the energy abandoned her, the fire turning to grey ash. The opposing dragon, suddenly strong, shoved Crystal off him and flying a few feet.

_What... How..._ Crystal thought frantically. _He stole my power... nobody can..._

Spyro inhaled deeply and released a giant fireball from his maw. It hit the dragon spot on, charring and burning of his chest, as well as sending him flying with the force of the attack. He slammed into a tree and stopped moving, dead.

"What's up with _him?"_ Sparx demanded.

"I don't know. Is everyone okay?" Spyro asked. Cynder nodded.

"Something happened," Crystal said quietly, voice filled with dread. "He stole my power."

"What do you mean?" Cynder inquired.

"He took my power... and transferred it to himself. How does that happen? Dragons can't do that, can they?"

"No..." Spyro said. He walked over to the limp body of the dragon, followed by Crystal.

Crystal pushed on the dragon, rolling him over. She quickly retracted her paw and was shocked to see something embedded in his neck. A Dark Spirit Gem.

"Crystal, don't!" Spyro exclaimed.

But Crystal ignored him and reached out for the gem. She wrapped her paw around it, brushing off the pain that flashed through her arm, and tugged. The unnatural crystal held fast, so she pulled harder. Finally the dark gem pulled loose. Crystal lost her hold and it went flying. When the crystal hit the ground, it shattered like glass. The scattered pieces slowly lost their dark glow and faded to a drained white.

"Why was that in him?" Crystal asked wearily once she regained her voice. Just touching that thing left her weakened.

"That must be how he sapped your strength, Crystal. But he's a dragon too. Why didn't it steal _his_ energy?" Spyro wondered.

"We need to get to Warfang. Somebody there must know," Cynder said.

"You're right. Come on, we can't be far now." Spyro took a running start and flapped into the air. Sparx, Cynder, and Crystal followed him, in that order.

Crystal shivered as she flew. The fog was beginning to let up, but she couldn't see anything and she was still cold. It took her a while to realize that her heart was pounding.

_Why am I so scared? A dragon attacked us and he had a Dark Spirit Gem in him. Perhaps he used that to steal my power. So what? There's nothing to be afraid of._ She tried to lie to herself.

"Are we almost there?" Crystal demanded, too anxious to hold her peace any longer.

"We should be getting close," Spyro replied, flapping his wings.

"Is anybody else like, _still_ creeped out by that guy?" Sparx questioned. Nobody answered, but Spyro and Cynder did exchange worried looks.

Warfang finally came into sight. Luckily, Cynder happened to look down, or they would have flown over it and went on for who knows how far before turning back. The group swooped down and landed in the street, folding tired wings to their sides.

The city people about were sparsely placed, only two or three residents walking down the street. Mornings in Warfang were usually slow. It wasn't until about midday that the city began to liven up. As it was only about ten, few people walked the streets.

"Alright, first we need to tell somebody about the dragon we encountered out there," Spyro said in a low voice and he headed forward. "Then we can ask around about our mother."

"But who do we tell?" Cynder asked, assuming the same hushed tone.

"Saifae has a council who pretty much runs the place, right? Warfang's got to have something similar." Crystal shrugged.

"Good call. Come on, let's look around," Spyro nodded.

Spyro stopped to ask a mole for directions and the group was on its way, setting off for the large building that was located in westernmost Warfang. By the time they managed to find it (the western district of Warfang was very large), it was nearly twelve.

Spyro led the way inside. Almost as soon as he and the others set foot in the building, a dragon rushed forward. He was an electric dragon, draped in a serious demeanor, although not uncomfortably so. His amber scales could be mistaken for a fire dragon's. His eyes were grey like a thunderhead and his underbelly and horns were the neon blue of a lightning strike.

"Hello, my name is Rokku. May I help you?" the amber dragon inquired, voice as rigid and formal as he was.

"We need to speak to the members of the council," Spyro said. "It's important."

Rokku nodded, asking no questions. If the purple dragons themselves needed to speak to the council, he thought, it would be best to have little delay. "I'll assemble them right away. Please wait here." With that, he strode through a door and was gone.

There was only a few moments of silence before a voice spoke up. "Hey, I know you!" The voice belonged to a teenage boy. The owner of it stepped into the light the window cast. "You're the ones that defeated Malefor and everything!"

"That's us," Crystal replied, grinning.

"I'm Kaze." Kaze grinned back. Although his scales were white with a fleeting tinge of yellow, his eyes shared the stormy grey of Rokku's own. He looked about thirteen or fourteen.

"It's nice to meet you," Cynder said with a shy but friendly smile.

"You as well. Hey, don't mind my dad. He may come off as a little stiff, but he's a great dragon. You know, if you don't mind my asking, what _do_ you need to speak to the council for?"

"I don't know if I should tell you. You may just panic..." Spyro said uncertainly.

"I won't panic, and I won't tell anybody else if you don't want me to," Kaze promised.

"Well, I guess it's alright." So Spyro told him about the dragon they had found, and the dark crystal that he had somehow used to steal power from them.

Kaze remained silent, thinking. Finally, he said, "I don't know what that could mean. All I know is that those Spirit Gems aren't natural and they sap our power. If it helps somehow, the kids around here say that they're the shattered pieces of the Dark Master's heart, but that's obviously ridiculous." Kaze shrugged. "Sorry I can't be of more help."

"It's alright," Crystal assured. Quickly changing the topic, she asked, "So, what's your element? Wind?"

"No, actually, it's magic."

"Magic?"

"You don't know? Well, I'll give you the basic rundown. Magic isn't actually an element at all—it's the lack of it. A disease causes it or something. I have no idea why it's called magic—I think it's because we have resistance to the other elements. There is a more official name, but I can't remember it for my life." Before Kaze could explain more, Rokku walked back inside.

"The council has agreed to meet you. Please go through the door. The room you are looking for is at the end of the hallway." Rokku said.

Spyro nodded and walked forward. "See you, Kaze."

"Catch you later, guys," Kaze said.

And so the group set off, trudging down the hallway. Just as they had been told, the room behind the door at the end of the hallway was the council's room. It was large and about twenty councilpersons were inside it. Crystal didn't take a close look at them, but about half were dragons, half were moles, and one or two were cheetahs.

Spyro, Crystal, and Cynder's claws clicked on the hardwood floor as they made their way closer to the group of council members.

_It's so cold in here,_ Crystal thought, managing to suppress a shiver. She stared ahead, wondering who would speak first.

"Rokku told us that you had something very important to tell us," a male mole said. He sounded impatient, as if he wanted to get the meeting over with as soon as possible.

"Yes. We found a dragon in the woods about an hour away from Warfang... although it was more like he found us," Spyro explained.

"You waste our time because you found a dragon?" an annoyed water dragon demanded, blue eyes squinting into a scrutinizing glare.

"Rectan, Rectan, let the dragon speak," a wind dragon said sternly. He turned to Spyro. "Spyro, describe this dragon, please."

So he did. He described the dragon's physical features with as much detail as he could. Meanwhile, the water dragon Rectan's eyes got bigger and bigger the whole time. It was clear he wanted to speak by the look on his face, but he waited until Spyro finished speaking.

"That's my brother!" Rectan exclaimed. "He disappeared just a few days ago! You—where is he? What did you do to him?"

Spyro said nothing, only exchanged shocked, guilty glances with Crystal. It seemed like hours passed, although it had only been a few seconds, before Crystal finally mustered the courage to speak, voice cracking.

"Well, we kinda, uh... killed him?"


	7. An Old Friend

"You _what?!" _Rectan's livid voice boomed across the room, causing all in it to cringe from its intensity. The guilty Crystal opened her mouth and tried to explain further, but Rectan cut her off before she could utter a single word. "How dare you!"

"We didn't—" Crystal spoke quickly, knowing it would be hard to talk her way out of this one, but Rectan interrupted yet again.

"You're a _murderer!" _he exclaimed, his steel blue eyes now squinted into a glare that could pierce the strongest of hearts. But Crystal, who was becoming increasingly angry, didn't even seem to notice. Fed up, she stamped her paw on the ground.

"Would you just _listen _to me? We didn't murder him! He attacked us!" she growled.

Rectan was about to open his mouth to yell again, but the wind dragon that had silenced him before spoke. "Rectan, we must allow them to explain. You know as well as I do of the dragons that have gone missing as of late. We don't know if they could be experiencing odd behavior that caused our friends here to misinterpret him as a threat."

"Wait, dragons have gone missing?" Spyro asked, cutting whatever Crystal was about to say off before she got them _killed._

A mole in the front row nodded, pacing forward. Crystal and Spyro immediately picked him out as Mason, but there was no time to say hello.

"It started just a few days ago. An earth dragon named Regius was seen leaving the city around noon and never returned. A few guards were sent out to search the forest, but it was if he had just vanished. Then, Rectan's brother followed, then more and more..." Mason trailed off.

"Almost thirty now," another mole said, shaking his long brown nose sadly. "Dragons go into the woods—and they don't come out."

"People who wander the streets at night are getting abducted as well and nobody leaves behind a single trace. It seems that nowhere is safe. And we're not even sure what is happening to them, or who's behind it."

"That's what we came here for," Cynder said. "The dragon that attacked us, he had a Dark Spirit Gem embedded in his neck."

Exchanging shocked glances, the council began to whisper among themselves. They only stopped to glance at the group every so often, sending unwanted chills up the heroes' spines.

Finally, the council parted, exchanging uneasy glances. All eyes snapped onto Cynder as Mason stepped forward and spoke.

"Cynder, are you certain of this?" he murmured, making no attempt to suppress the fear that was now apparent in his very stature.

Cynder only nodded in response. She was beginning to realize at the back of her mind what was distressing Mason, but still she said nothing. Mason sighed and began to pace. His words confirmed Cynder's thoughts.

"Dark Spirit Gems are the creation of Malefor... They were made to be used against the dragons, but I don't understand what is happening now. Before, they only drained a dragon's power and will, but now it seems..." Shaking his head, Mason trailed off yet again. It was as if he didn't want to give voice to his inner terror. "What did the dragon do?"

"He was wandering through the woods. When he saw us, he just attacked us," Spyro explained. Pausing, he added as an afterthought, "But it was almost like he wasn't in control."

Mason stopped pacing and turned to the group. "This is strange. ...If Malefor is truly behind all of this, we are all in great danger. I don't understand how he could have revived himself, but it is of no importance; He could be planning to do _anything _with those dragons."

"We need to stop him. Even if it's not him, we can get behind whatever is causing this," Spyro said.

"You would be doing the people of Warfang, perhaps even the world, a great favour." Mason paused, thinking, before continuing. "There is nothing left to discuss here. I hope for your return, and good news along with it. We shall do all we can to fortify the city and warn the inhabitants of it. The council is dismissed."

With that, the councilpersons all stood, as if on cue, and each headed for a hallway on the side of the room. Rectan did not hesitate to shoot a distrustful glare the group's way, but he said nothing as he disappeared into the hall, leaving everybody in silence.

"Looks like we're going on another adventure," Crystal said, faking brightness. She tried to mask her dismay behind her cheerful-sounding words, but nobody answered and each stoic face turned and headed for the door.

Crystal sighed. _What about our mother? _she couldn't help but think, even though she knew that this was much, much more important. Unable to escape the pang of sadness she turned to other thoughts. For starters, how had Malefor escaped? In fact, how could he still be alive? Then again, it could just be a coincidence. Maybe, hopefully, Malefor was still dead. But what if he wasn't?

Crystal followed the others as they headed outside. She didn't have the answers, so there was simply no use in asking. Instead, she asked a different question.

"Where do we start?" she inquired, pacing down the brick path that led to the main road. The city was still devoid of life.

"We should search the forest first. Maybe we can find something or someone there that will tell us what's going on. If not, then we can figure out where to go later," Spyro said.

"What about what Mason said? Dragons who go in the forest don't come out?"

"There's four of us. We won't have any problem taking any of the dragons out if we find them. Come on." Spyro took to the air and everybody followed, but Crystal still lingered behind all of the others.

Doubt and fear ravaged her mind like harsh ocean waves on a beach. She could still remember quite clearly everything that Malefor had done... all that he had taken away from her. Some wounds he'd inflicted burned deeper than others.

But Crystal knew that without Malefor, she never would have met Sparx, or her parents, perhaps wouldn't even be who she was today... Without the strength her taxing journey had provided, would she have been able to withstand the ravenous hunger for power that had consumed Malefor?

Crystal did not know, and she did not regret anything. However, if Malefor _was _back, she knew he would be angry. He would want revenge, and he'd do anything he could to obtain it. Crystal glanced uneasily at Spyro as she coasted through the air.

There was so much more he could still wrench from her hold.

Crystal tried to blot these thoughts out of her mind as she and the others landed in the forest. There was no use in scaring herself; the only thing she could do was be prepared for anything that could be thrown at her.

The patch of clearing everyone had landed in was no more than a small circle. The trees in the forest were quite varied; tall, slender cypress trees stood amiably with the thick and impenetrable oaks, and the dogwood trees with their bright red berries seemed to have no qualms about the pale magnolia flowers that littered the ground around them.

The heavy fog from earlier still smothered the forest, giving it a rather eerie feel. Outside of the small clearing, only a few patches of light streamed down through the trees. Nobody was very happy about having to go into the dark woods, but it had to be done. Though reluctant, the group slowly headed into the forest.

All of their senses were on edge. It was hard to see here, as Sparx's glow didn't give off very much illumination and the streams of sunlight were infrequent. Coupled with the thick, crushing fog, everybody might as well have been wandering through the forest with their eyes closed. And they knew that though the enemy was... distracted, they weren't simply mindless; if they wanted to attempt to ambush the group, they could.

But they didn't. As Spyro, Cynder, Crystal, and Sparx wandered the woods, looking for something (though they weren't entirely sure what it was), not a single dragon crossed their path. The forest was dead silent. Birds did not sing, squirrels did not chatter... there was nothing.

Or so it seemed.

He first became aware of their presence when Spyro's foot caught and broke a twig. The crack that the broken stick produced seemed to resound through the whole forest. Everybody went tense, expecting something to come rushing out of the trees at them, but after several seconds they relaxed and continued on.

But the damage had been done. He, a mysterious figure in the darkness, had heard them. Startled at the noise, he rose to his feet and took a few paces forward.

_Wait, _he thought, pausing. _What if it's something hostile?_ He glanced down at the cuts he had already received from the last attack. The various scratches and wounds that covered his body had been ineptly tended to; the more serious ones were only covered with a makeshift bandage and he had used herbs to heal the rest. As for his other wounds that he didn't know how to heal... well, let's just say he had a rather _shocking_ experience.

Unable to overcome his assailant, he had escaped into the forest. There was little chance of him overcoming this foe. Perhaps three years ago he might have, but now he was nothing; a miniscule speck in an endless void.

But he was alive, which was more than he could say about his comrades. They had always called him weak because he knew that it was better to back down and escape with your life than go rushing blindly into battle and die. Perhaps he was not as strong as the others had been, but he was intelligent, which was a rarity in _his _species. It had gotten him this far and it would get him much farther.

They called him Jayred for a reason, after all. Among the apes, it was a name of honour; those who were given it were destined to live longer than others. Names among the apes were most often simple, based off of things that represented traits one would need to survive, and Jayred was no exception. He was the free spirit of a bird and the red of fresh blood—blood that would keep him from falling prey to others.

Jayred quickly snapped out of his thoughts and into the real world when he realized the one who had made the sound was heading his way. It didn't take him long after this to come to the conclusion that there wasn't just one; he could hear all of their footsteps clearly. It was definitely three dragons. Years of experience had taught him to recognize the way they walked.

He pondered to himself for a moment and examined his armour. The dirty brown leather that covered his whole body was in bad condition after years of use. It definitely wouldn't take too many blows, especially if the attack was elemental. He looked at his sword next. The silver handle was dull and the steel that had once glinted bright in the sun was now rusted, not as sharp as it had once been. He knew he was in no condition to fight one dragon, much less three, but...

Jayred sunk into the shadows, intending to hide. _I'll size them up, _he thought. _Maybe I can defeat them. In any case, all these dragons have gone crazy and I need to clear them out before they clear me out._

Jayred had become much more impulsive as of late. After all, what did he have to lose? Nobody would accept him; not dragons, nor cheetahs, nor wolves or moles or anybody. Once, he and his people had murdered them, raiding villages and tearing families apart. The only thing that welcomed him was the forest.

Jayred couldn't help but let a grimace pass over his long, scarred face as he recalled the raid on the Temple. He had been but a mere soldier then, but the soldiers got the most important—and dangerous—job. Smash all of the eggs. The memory was blurry to him now, but he could briefly recall it.

Gaul led the platoon of soldiers into the small room, surrounded on all sides by eggs of various colours. Some were large, some were small, and some had intricate markings on them. His eyes scanned over them quickly before falling on one with a dusky black shell with silver swirls running over its top. He wasted no time in sweeping up the egg and then he was gone, leaving the soldiers to do their terrible job. They did it very well.

Then, the raid on Saifae began. The Guardians were unconscious and unable to warn the exposed town of the threat that they faced. Ignitus was still awake, but he didn't reach Saifae in time and he could not stop them once they arrived. The apes struck quickly, killing every dragon they could find. Those who fought were struck down, and most who tried to run were killed as well. Few escaped.

After everybody was dead, the apes set the town on fire and calmly walked away. Saifae had been razed to the ground and only the Guardians survived. If Malefor hadn't commanded it to be so, they would probably have been murdered as well.

And Jayred had enjoyed every last second of it. He had wanted to see the dragons exterminated, one by one. But now... he felt only regret. Jayred did not pity himself or try to blame it on something else. Though he had been born into a dark world, though he _had _been forced to train and become a killer, his actions were his alone. Perhaps this was his punishment, only lessened by the fact that underneath the rough layers there was a kind heart.

Jayred scratched his head and sighed. What was he doing _now? _Killing dragons. They had been acting erratic lately, not to mention attacking and capturing innocents, but still...

Jayred tried to shove the thought out of his mind. The dragons were _evil, _kidnapping people and doing who-knows-what to them. And anyway, the three of them were coming now.

Through the haze that shrouded the woods, Jayred could not make out any features on these dragons; the only thing he could ascertain was that all three were children and they had a strange glowing ball following them. Jayred had his doubts about killing them, but every dragon he had met so far for the past few days had been insane. So, he made his decision. Once the group had passed by, Jayred quietly unsheathed his sword and dropped into a fighting stance. He lined himself up with the totally oblivious Crystal, steadied his breathing so he wouldn't give himself away, and silently rushed forward.

If Cynder's hearing hadn't been as sharp as it was, Crystal probably would have died. However, Cynder _did _hear Jayred's footsteps and turned around. Even in the crushing darkness, his dark form that rushed towards them was clearly visible to her.

"Crystal, look out!" Cynder yelled.

Crystal whipped around. Jayred was just beginning to jump into the air, but Crystal quickly hopped back, and Jayred's sword slammed down where she had been standing a moment before. Jayred recovered and was on his feet in a second. He stepped forward and Crystal stepped back, but as fate would have it, both happened to walk right into a patch of light that was shining through the tree leaves. It was starting to get dark now, but the even dim light left was just enough.

Jayred recognized Crystal immediately, but the only thing that surprised the latter was the fact that the ape standing before her wasn't made of bones radiating shadow.

"Crystal?" Jayred asked, lowering his sword. In fact, he nearly dropped it out of surprise.

The realization hit Crystal immediately. _"Jayred?"_

"You _know _him?" Oddly enough, Cynder and Spyro spluttered this simultaneously.

"Well, yeah, I know him. We just kind of randomly met..." Crystal said sheepishly, pawing the dirt. She had never told anybody about the encounter with Jayred.

"And you didn't even tell me that you befriended an ape?" Spyro asked incredulously.

"Or me?" Sparx interjected, crossing his arms.

"When did this happen?" Cynder asked.

Crystal was starting to get uncomfortable now that all attention was on her. "Look, Cynder, I really don't think we should—"

"Wait, that's _Cynder?" _Jayred interrupted. This time, he did drop his sword out of shock, and it hit the ground with a barely-audible thump.

"We can't get any of our questions answered like this," Crystal said, frustrated. "Let's just all calm down and I'll explain everything."

"It's gettin' dark out anyway. We should build a fire. The light wards off the..." Unsure how to explain it, Jayred trailed off. Before the silence that followed could get too long, he turned and walked away, going to gather firewood.

Within thirty minutes, all were arranged around the fire. Jayred, who sat on a log, was farther away from the fire. His dark brown fur and armour was invisible in the dark twilight. Everybody else was sitting closer to the fire. The large flame danced before them, occasionally flaring up at the stars.  
>"How did you two find each other?" Spyro asked, breaking the silence.<p>

Crystal had been lying down, but she sighed and sat up. "You remember at Dante's Freezer when the Commander captured me?"

Spyro nodded in response, stoic face showing no emotion and eyes only flickering with a hint of memory, so Crystal continued.

"While the Dreadwings were carrying me there, I met Jayred. After my encounter with Cynder..." Crystal paused, not wanting to recall such memories of her friend. Cynder's gaze was locked on the flames, so Crystal continued. "He just snapped the chain I was in and let me go. Jayred, you never told me why."

"I don't even know," Jayred said blankly, shifting his weight. "I just did it."

Crystal stared into the flames for a second more before she spoke. "I used to think all apes were bad before you spared me, but you're different."

"No, I'm not. I'm just like the rest of 'em."

"Would the rest of them have saved me?"

Jayred didn't answer, only stared at her with dark eyes that matched the colour of his fur. "One right won't fix all my wrongs," he finally said.

"Maybe not..." Crystal began, before looking up with lighted eyes. "But two will. You should come with us and help us defeat whoever's kidnapping the dragons."

"Can he help us?" Spyro inquired, raising an eyeridge. Though any friend of Crystal's was a friend of him, he still had his doubts about Jayred.

"He was in Malefor's army. If we have him to help us, and if Malefor _is _involved, that only gives us a bigger advantage."

"Wait, Malefor? I thought you killed him," Jayred said, straightening.

Spyro shook his head. "We didn't kill him; we imprisoned him. A dragon we killed seemed to be controlled by a Dark Spirit Gem, and those were created by Malefor. He might be alive."

"A Spirit Gem _controlling _someone? I've never heard of that... The leaders had access to the gems, and we knew everything about them, but they can't do that."

"Nobody knows what's going on," Cynder said, shaking her head. "That's what we're trying to find out."

"We need your help. Whatever is going on here, it's bigger than us," Crystal said.

"Alright, Crystal. I'll help you. But you have to promise me one thing," Jayred murmured. His eyes, usually lacking emotion now began to shine with just a glimmer of hope.

"What is it?"

"If I survive through this, I need you to convince the dragons that I'm no longer a threat to them. I don't wanna spend the rest of my life hiding in the forest, knowing death is imminent if a dragon spots me. If you do this, you'll have my gratitude."

Crystal nodded. "Deal. What do you guys think?"

"We need his help," Spyro murmured, still distrusting but willing to accept Jayred if it meant giving them a chance of success.

"Jayred knew more about Malefor and the Dark Armies than any other leader... maybe even any other ape except Gaul. If it's Malefor, we'll need his help," Cynder said, tacking the last part on in a stray hope that it would be anything, anything but Malefor.

Crystal nodded again and turned. "Sparx?"

"Hey, I don't care. Whatever keeps you guys alive," Sparx said bluntly.

"Then it's settled," Crystal concluded. "Welcome to the group, Jayred. I don't know what we're going to be facing, but... you're one of us now." And, for just a moment, Crystal allowed herself to smile.


End file.
